Atheist Goes to Court in Attempt to Have ‘In God We Trust’ Removed from Currency

An atheist activist is pursuing legal action in his attempt to have “In God We Trust” removed from U.S. currency.

According to The Blaze, Michael Newdow is filing a lawsuit in federal court against the well-known motto.

This is not the first time Newdow has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to have the motto removed from U.S. currency. Judge Harold Baer previously ruled that Newdow’s argument that the motto violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is not tenable.

Newdow, however, refuses to rest his case.

“It [the motto] violates the first ten words of the Bill of Rights (‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion’),” wrote Newdow in a guest post on the Friendly Atheist blog, “and it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Unfortunately, because Constitutional principles can be twisted and perverted, the challenges to this practice under the Establishment Clause have, so far, failed.”

Newdow then explained how the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may help atheists win the case to have the motto removed, since the Act states that there must be compelling government interest for including “God” on something such as money, and Newdow does not believe there is any “compelling government interest” in this case.

Newdow is joined by 41 plaintiffs on behalf of whom he is filing the case.

“Imagine if Christians had to carry on their body something they disagree with religiously, like ‘Jesus is a lie’ — how long do you think that would stand?” Newdow recently told liberal website ThinkProgress. “But atheists are so denigrated in this society that people accept this without a second thought.”